Barney Stickles

Keeper of the lodge's history

Barney was the lodge historian. He spent years gathering and saving the story of Masonry in Maumee and Toledo, and he chaired the committees for the lodge's 150th and 175th anniversaries.

He chaired the 175th anniversary in September 1992, when the lodge placed a marker at Fort Meigs for Army Lodge No. 24, the soldiers' lodge started there in 1813. That day Barney presented the fort with a new 35-foot flagpole, bought by a group of lodge members as a memorial.

He served on the lodge's investment committee and led or helped with many Masonic funeral services. He was a Past High Priest and treasurer of Fort Miami Calumet Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and a member of Calumet Council, Royal and Select Masters, and Zenobia Shrine. In the Order of the Eastern Star he belonged to Palestine Chapter No. 50 and was a Past Patron of the former Maumee Chapter No. 197.

Railroad telegrapher

Barney went to work on the railroad as a telegraph operator. He was a tower man and clerk for the Wabash Railroad from 1951 to 1964, and he later became General Agent of the Toledo Terminal. He was a past president of the Toledo Freight Agents' Association.

He thought of himself as the last railroad telegrapher in the Toledo area. Over the years he collected telegraph instruments, many of them given to him by the families of old telegraphers, and he later donated the collection so it would be kept. "I didn't throw away any of it, because I wanted to preserve history," he told The Blade. He also showed visitors how the telegraph worked at the railroad station at Sauder Village.

Work, school and service

For 25 years Barney was president of Styl-Rite Lamps Shades, Inc. of Toledo. He also served as an appraiser for the Lucas County and Wood County courts.

He kept going to school. He earned a bachelor's degree, two master's degrees, one of them in counselor education and psychology, and a doctorate in mechanotherapy. In 1986 he helped create the Ohio Counselor and Social Worker Board.

He helped Roy and Georgette Engler start the Sunshine Children's Home and served for many years on its board as secretary and treasurer. He was a trustee of Siena Heights College in Adrian for nine years. Late in life he was president of the Toledo Animal Shelter Association and led the building of its new shelter. He was also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution.

The Barney Stickles Scholarship Fund

Gifts to the fund go to scholarships given in his name.

To give by check, make it out to Northern Light Lodge and write "Stickles Scholarship Fund" on the memo line. Mail it to:

Northern Light Lodge No. 40 119 W. Wayne St. Maumee, Ohio 43537